


(and if they hate us) maybe hair and makeup gonna save us

by verity



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Backstory, Character Study, Community: holmestice, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-05
Updated: 2013-01-05
Packaged: 2017-11-23 19:28:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/625727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verity/pseuds/verity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate is fond of being one of Irene's secrets. Hidden in plain sight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(and if they hate us) maybe hair and makeup gonna save us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [holyfant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/holyfant/gifts).



> Written for the Winter 2012 round of Holmestice! Thus far I've written for all five rounds and written genderswap femslash or femslash each time. <3

Kate gets bored around the third dress, pops downstairs to put on the kettle. "Works for me," she says, when she comes back upstairs to find Irene in a slinky, sequined number that she picked up the last time they were in Paris.

"Everything works on you," Irene says, scrutinizing her reflection.

—

Kate is Irene's assistant. She assists with a lot of things: wardrobe, makeup, photography, correspondence, blackmail. Irene hired her on the basis of her unremarkable c.v., her high school fascination with the darkroom, and the fact that Kate's older sister Penny broke it off with Irene five years before and Irene was still bitter. She was the one who approached Kate, at a career fair her last year of uni; she asked if Kate would like to make a difference in the world.

Kate's parents and Penny think that Kate works as an administrative assistant for one of Irene's more professional aliases who's based on the continent. That's fine. When Kate was hired, she hadn't wanted them to worry. These days, she's fond of being one of Irene's secrets. Hidden in plain sight.

—

Irene's wardrobe is large enough that it presents the biggest practical difficulty when they change locations. Kate keeps the loft in New York and the flat in Paris stocked with essentials, the pieces simple enough to keep around more than a season, but she wasn't certain enough about their presence in London to do more than bring three suitcases full of Irene's showpiece suits and gowns and a fourth for lingerie. If they stay, Irene can always shop, or Kate will, for her.

Kate comes ahead of Irene by a week, rents the townhouse, furnishes it, flashing her little black Amex at shop after shop. Furniture, linens, wardrobe, she's got it covered. She responds to inquiries, too, meets some potential clients to feel them out. By the time Irene arrives, she has a full calendar, a plush bed with soft sheets, and an ample closet. 

Kate is good at what she does, which is whatever Irene asks her.

—

A year to the day after the career fair, Kate in the kitchen. She's sitting at the table, waiting on baked chicken in the oven, and biting her lip at a Sudoku puzzle. 

"Hello." Irene comes up behind Kate and places her hands on Kate's shoulders.

Kate jumps in her seat. "Did you need something?" she says, tugging at her hair to cover her nervousness. This is before the loft, at the old apartment in Chelsea around the corner from Billy's Bakery. Kate lives uptown in a smaller apartment that she shares with three other girls; she spends most of her time at Irene's. "Dinner will be ready in ten."

"I know," Irene says. She leans down to bring her mouth close to Kate's ear. "This is a performance review."

"Performance review?" Kate sits her Sudoku book down, leaving the pencil inside to hold the page. 

"You're reviewing me. You've been working for me a year now. What do you think?"

"Of you as a, a boss?" Kate trips over the words. "You're fine," she says automatically, "I mean, you're fair. You ask a lot, but I like working for you. It's never boring, that's for sure."

"I'm not boring, that's positive," Irene says, deadpan. For a moment, Kate wonders if Irene is mocking her. Irene is hard to read even in private. It will take Kate years to really get to know her. "I give good boss?"

Kate rolls her eyes. "You're not like that to me."

"I ask, I don't demand." Irene tilts her head, thoughtful. "Some things, though—if you want them, you'll have to ask yourself."

"Are you talking about a raise?" Kate says.

"No," Irene says. She squeezes Kate's shoulders and lets go.

—

Kate's not jealous by nature. She has Penny and two younger brothers, her entire life's been sharing. Except for this. She doesn't share Irene with anyone.

Of course, Irene's calendar is full of engagements—Kate put them there. She calls cabs to take Irene to and from her engagements, ushers Irene's clients into their home and makes them wait just the right amount of time before they see their mistress. Irene doesn't fuck anyone where they live, but she'll do almost anything—everything—else. It's easier to record at home, and Irene is all about the incriminating evidence.

Sometimes they watch the footage together; Kate's the best at the technical parts, editing highlights reels and touching up screencaps until they look like professional stills, but Irene has the best eye for what moments to select, what will make someone pony up favors and cash to keep out of the public eye. It's all clinical, their assessment; it's not what turns Irene on, and for Kate, it's all part of the job. Their relationship doesn't start until everything's packed up and put away for the night, floggers and whips cleaned and in their drawers, computers powered down and phones on silent.

Irene holds Kate down in bed, but she never ties her up or hurts her. She doesn't need accessories to coax Kate into compliance when she can rule with pleasure.

—

They have good lawyers, and Kate's out of London and in their Paris flat before the week is out. She's not ready to go back to the house in London. Irene's enemies have never gotten this violent before, and Irene herself is out of sorts, afraid to set foot outside and flying into a rage every time Kate tries to bring it up. 

"I'm not _scared_ ," Irene says, throwing herself down onto the chaise. "I'm not a child."

"I'm not saying that. Either of those," Kate says. She doesn't touch Irene, just stays where she is, standing at the back of the chaise. "Just—stay away for a while. We have other places we can go, other things we can do. I'm asking."

"All right," Irene says, after a while. "Kate. I will."

—

Kate didn't ask Irene to stay away forever; she knows better than to hold her that tightly.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm [ladyofthelog](http://ladyofthelog.tumblr.com) at tumblr.


End file.
